


The Lost One

by Caffinated_Story



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Found Family, Gen, What Could Possibly Go Wrong?, alternative dimension caleb, sure let's play with the weird glowing thing, the mighty nein - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-02
Updated: 2019-01-02
Packaged: 2019-10-02 12:27:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17264216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caffinated_Story/pseuds/Caffinated_Story
Summary: Caleb goes missing; in his place there's another Caleb. And then Another. And Another.But none of them is their Caleb, and the M9 are getting increasingly frustrated that their personal stinky wizard isn't returning.





	The Lost One

**Author's Note:**

  * For [yettinim](https://archiveofourown.org/users/yettinim/gifts).



> Based on a thread of tweets by yettinim. The idea was too good to pass up I had to try to write a quick fic for it!  
> https://twitter.com/drawsshits/status/1079598688555675649

It had been an interesting few weeks for the party.

Well, awful more than interesting if you were to ask them properly.

Jester barely managed to smile, and Beau had taken to punching random objects at seemingly random times to try to vent some frustration.

Nott was high strung and on edge, claiming to be perfectly fine – but even Fjord had caught her crying one night after Caleb #6 had referred to her as vermin.

Caleb #6 was the sixth alternative Caleb to show up after their very own Caleb had gone missing after toying with the dodecahedron until the late hours.

Beau was the last to have seen him; then there was a very bright flash of light and he was gone.  
In his place was Caleb #1 as they later referred to him as.

Caleb #1 had been very confused and scared, and quickly proved to be utterly useless at magic. He appeared to not even know any magic and spent most of the time hiding behind Beau or Yasha, muttering things in Zemnian no one understood.

Caleb #1 had lasted for 4 days before he disappeared in a flash of light.

Caleb #2 had been no better and they got stuck with him for 5 days.  
He could do some magic, but it was erratic and without reason. He set fire to Jester's haversack by accident when trying to make dancing lights and proceeded to only laugh like a maniac before disappearing. 

Caleb #3 made everyone uncomfortable for 3 very long days.  
Not because of what he did, but because it was plain wrong to have Caleb smile, laugh and be so damn cheery.

Beau had snapped at some point and threatened to break his nose if he didn't stop telling jokes. Poor Caleb #3 thought she was joking and had hugged her.  
It had taken the combined forces of Yasha, Jester and Fjord to pull Beau away from Caleb #3 and calm her down.

Caleb #4 resembled their own Caleb. But he was much more easily spooked and wary.  
Beau had whispered to Nott that she figured this Caleb had never met her in jail, and Nott was inclined to agree. In fact, after 6 days with Caleb #4 they gathered he had never met or been around any human back in his dimension since escaping the prison.  
While they felt sorry for Caleb #4, they were happy to see him disappear after 7 days.

Caleb #5 was by far the better version. This was a Caleb with strong magic and a good childhood.  
A Caleb with no past problems.  
Beau still wanted to punch his face in on several occasions.

Sure, he was powerful. He was also kind. Both very good things really.  
But he lacked the understanding that had made their Caleb so special.  
Caleb #5 had never had any hardships thrown at him. His life had been perfect and he didn't seem to understand that the rest had perhaps not been so fortunate.  
While not a bad Caleb, he still wasn't their Caleb.

Caleb #5 was replaced by Caleb #6 after 6 days.

Now, Caleb #6 was powerful.  
Even more so than Caleb #5 had been.  
But that power came at a very high price.

Caleb #6 was ruthless.  
He had no love in his heart for anyone, and would bark orders and yell at them all over the most minute of things that pissed him off.

And almost everything pissed him off.

Caleb #6 was very useful in battle, taking out a troll with one well aimed fire bolt to the head; a fact he bragged about afterwards.  
He didn't care that the burning troll had then hurt both Fjord and Yasha badly as it fell onto them. Nor did he care that Nott had been kicked into a tree with such force she fell unconscious.

Oh no, Caleb #6 cared not one bit for either of them.

They were there to do as he said and nothing more. 

“I miss Caleb,” Nott sniffled as Caduceus and Jester worked on patching her up; Jester doing her best to clean off the dried blood she had coughed up when her ribs had broken and pierced through one of her lungs.

“I do too...” Jester whispered in return, casting a glance towards Caleb #6 who was yelling angrily in Zemnian because Fjord had maybe slightly overcooked the meat again.

“I want him back, I don't like this Caleb #6 at all. He's evil,” Nott wiped a tear from her eye and pulled her hood even further over her face.

“This one is very strong,” Caduceus sighed. “But not good...”

“The others disappeared after a while. So why is he still here? It's been ten days!” Jester gritted her teeth; her tail swishing angrily behind her as she cast another Cure Wounds on Nott to repair her ribs.

“Maybe they have to want to go back...” Caduceus mused, gaze falling to Beau; who had now joined the shouting match and was telling Caleb #6 to shove the stew up his ass.

“Maybe we have to kill this one?” Nott whispered. 

“He'd know if you tried...” Caduceus frowned. “His magic is far beyond ours...”

“What if he just... encounters an accident?” Jester asked. “Oh no. We can't save you, you're too far away? Like that?” she added, giving Caduceus a hopeful look.

“He took a troll down with ease. I don't think it will be that easy...” 

“Maybe we have to ask the dodecahedron to give our Caleb back?” Nott piped up weakly.

“Oh! Yes! Maybe!” Jester's eyes got a spark of excitement in them as she began to reach for her bag.

“No,” Caduceus whispered sternly. “Don't,”

“Why?” Jester paused as Caduceus' large hand enveloped hers.

“I don't want him to see that thing...” he eyed the pink haversack with worry. “With his level of magic, I don't want to know what happens if he finds out we have that strange thing...”

“Oh, right,” Jester frowned and closed her haversack up even tighter, tying the strings together in a tight bow.

“Try it when he'd not looking,” Nott whispered. “I can maybe, distract him?”

“No,” Jester shook her head. “He's almost set you on fire just because you've tried to sit next to him. I don't want him to hurt you!” her voice cracked and tears streamed down her face as she pulled Nott into a long hug.

“I agree,” Caduceus nodded and wrapped his arms around the both of them.

Behind them Caleb #6 had calmed down somewhat, but not before tossing out the food and shouting that they were all uselessly weak.

“We'll think about something,” Caduceus said as he tried to console the two women in his arms.  
“It will be okay in the end...”

However; Caleb #6 had no plans of leaving.  
And 3 days later pretty much all of them had contemplated murdering Caleb #6 at least twice.

“I can't stand him!” Beau hissed at Fjord as Caleb #6 once again went on a long rant about how they couldn’t tell their asses from their hands because they'd failed to take down a small colony of Marrow in one go.  
“Let me kill him,” she added as she started to fumble for her throwing knives.

“You'll only get yourself killed,” Fjord warned. “Trust me, if I though for a second we could win I'd tell you to go for it,”

“Can't you summon that demon or something again?”

“He'd kill it in a second,” Fjord sighed. “Trust me, I've thought about it...”

“Then what do we do? He's not leaving any time soon it seems!” Beau kicked a rock as hard as she could, sending it flying into a tree and bouncing off hard enough to make a mark.

“I.. I don't know,” Fjord scratched the back of his head as he watched Jester and Nott walk hand in hand a few metres ahead of them.

Nott was keeping her distance from Caleb #6 as much as possible, and Fjord understood too well why.

She claimed to be pretty thick skinned when it came to her appearance, but it had to hurt to have someone who looked like her Caleb tell her she was nothing more than an overgrown rat.

Jester did what she could to cheer her up, and even Yasha had made an awkward but endearing attempt to make Nott feel better. However; the now wilted flower-crown on her head didn't make her look any more happy. 

“He's till just human. What if we poison him?” Beau whispered. “Caduceus has got to have some sort of weird tea we can drug him with...”

“I've asked...” Fjord whispered in return.

“You have?” Beau stopped walking for a moment to contemplate what Fjord just said. “How many ways have you thought about so far?”

“Probably all of them,” Fjord gritted his teeth and sent a glare towards Caleb #6 who was now trying to tell Caduceus that talking the the trees was a waste of their time.

“I miss Caleb...” Beau sighed. “I really, really, miss him you know...”

“Uh, yeah,” Fjord took a deep breath. “So do I...”

“So what do we do? Just let him boss us around and almost kill us just because we can't fight a troll single-handedly?” Beau grimaced, kicking another stone with all her strength.

“Jester suggested we plead to the dodecahedron to give us our Caleb back, but we also don't want C#6 to see that thing... Who knows what he'll do with it,” Fjord bit his lip, his now almost full-grown tusks giving his scowl a more menacing look. 

“C#6 is an ass, but you're right... I don't want him to know we have that thing either,” Beau crossed her arms and glared daggers at the back of Caleb #6's head.

Fjord sighed, but couldn't think of anything else to say.  
They all wanted their own Caleb back. But since Caleb #6 appeared to be sticking around longer than the other Caleb's before him, they were loosing hope day by day.

He had to do something.  
They had to get rid off him.  
Sooner rather than later.

“You're useless,” Caleb #6 rolled his eyes and pushed Jester away so hard she stumbled and almost fell flat on her face if Beau hadn't been quick to catch her.  
“Can't even light a fire!” he sneered with disdain. 

“Well you're nothing more than a man with a stone heart!” Jester yelled angrily in return, tears welling up in her eyes. “We want our Caleb back! Why don't you leave if you hate us so much!?”

“Leave?” Caleb scoffed. “This place clearly needs me to straighten it out. It's a mess. You're all a mess,” he grimaced before lighting the fire with the snap of his fingers.

“We don't want you here,” Beau added, standing up and readying her fists in case Caleb #6 tried anything.

“Don't want me?” Caleb barked out a laugh. “You need me. You're useless! Pathetic even!”

“No! We're the Mighty Nein, and we don't need you! We need our Caleb back!” Jester screamed at him as she began to dig through her haversack.

“Your 'Caleb' is probably dead if he was as useless as you all are,” Caleb #6 scoffed.

“No, he's alive and we'll get him back somehow!” Nott's hands were shaking as she pulled out her crossbow and loaded it.  
For a brief moment Caleb #6 had a flash of fear in his eyes as she took aim towards him, but it passed when he noticed her trembling hands and tear-filled eyes.

“Weaklings, all of you,” he sneered.

“We're not weak!” Jester sniffled as she pulled out the dodecahedron.

Caleb #6's eyes went wide.

“Wh-What is that?” he stammered, taking a defensive stance.

“Something to send you far far away from us!” Jester hoisted it above her head before lobbing it at Caleb #6's feet with such precision Beau wanted to applaud her.

Caleb #6 froze and everyone else held their breath as the dodecahedron fell at his feet; the pale grey smoke-like light floating inside the glass; seemingly unfazed about the hard fall it suffered.

“Tch,” Caleb #6 rolled his eyes. “For a moment I thought you actually had something worth my time,” he barked out a harsh laugh and kicked the dodecahedron.  
“But it seems it's nothing more than a useless trick, worthless like the rest of you,”

Jester's breath heaved with anger, and behind her Yasha's hair was starting to turn darker and darker.

“If we're only useless to you, then go! We don't care about you. We want our Caleb back!” Nott was trying hard to hold her crossbow still, but it was clear actually firing at Caleb #6 was hard for her.  
Despite is harsh words, he still looked liker their Caleb.

“He's dead,” Caleb #6 laughed. “Why else would I be here?”

“Liar!” Nott screamed. “Give him back!”

“I didn't choose to come here,” Caleb #6 smirked. “But I'm here, and I'll use you as I wish,”

“No! You'll give him back to us!” Nott's crossbow steadied, and she fired.

Caleb #6 laughed as he cast mage armour on himself, not worried about the goblin and her puny weapon.

However, the bolt wasn't meant for him.

With wide eyes he watched it hit the dodecahedron at his feet with a clear ring.  
And then a bright flash of light enveloped them all.

“I can't fucking see,” Beau yelled, trying to shield her eyes from the bright light, but to no avail.

“Ow!” Fjord grumbled as he walked straight into Caduceus, who had done the sensible thing and grabbed onto Yasha before the bolt hit the dodecahedron.

“Sound off if you're alive!” Fjord shouted into the light.

“Here!” Jester's voice sounded from somewhere up ahead.

“Here!” Nott's shouted in return from a little further to the right.

“Uhm... here?” Caleb's voice sounded, and everyone froze in place.

“Caleb?” Nott whispered weakly. 

“Yes?” Caleb replied and slowly the light began to fade.

Caleb #6 was gone, and in his place stood Caleb.

Their Caleb.

“You're back!” Nott cried and flung her crossbow at the ground, running at full speed and tacking Caleb to the ground.

“Uh, yes, I think so?” Caleb looked around in confusion, sitting up and hugging Nott back as she clung to him with all her might. “Nott, I can't breathe properly,” he whispered to her, but Nott didn't budge.

“You're back, you're actually back!” Jester stumbled forward and hugged the two of them so hard Caleb appeared to be in at least a little pain.

“You, missed me?” Caleb looked very confused as the rest all gathered around, piling around him until he was physically unable to move even if he had wanted to.

“Of course we did!” Jester wiped some tears away with her sleeve. “The last one was a real asshole!”

“But he... had power, right?” Caleb asked softly, studying all their faces in turn. “He was... more useful than me, yes?”

“No fucking way,” Beau spat. “He was a dick,”

“Oh...” Caleb went silent, suddenly very aware of how everyone clung to him tightly. 

“Next time you want to play with the dodecahedron, I suggest we enforce the buddy system,” Caduceus smiled and stood up. “We keep being separated and it's not good for morale...”

“I can, uh, agree to that I suppose,” Caleb nodded and gave Nott an affectionate pet to the back of her head.

“Good to have you back,” Yasha said as Caduceus helped her up. “Some of the other ones talked too much...” 

“I'd rather have stinky Caleb than mean Caleb,” Jester sniffled.

“Yeah, prefer you over the other ones,” Beau chimed in with a crooked smile. 

Fjord stood up and helped the others to their feet, hoisting Caleb and Nott up with the help of Beau – Nott refused to let go of Caleb and her claws were well and truly hooked into his coat.

Caleb didn't mind.

They'd missed him.

They'd been given other versions of himself.  
Versions he'd thought would have been better – more useful.  
Stronger versions.

But they hadn't wanted that.

They had wanted him.

Caleb cradled Nott in his arms and sat down by the fire with a different type of flame burning inside him.

They'd missed him.

They had wanted him back.

Caleb couldn't help but smile.

He couldn't really remember the last time he'd actually felt wanted.  
But here they were.  
With smiles of their faces and relief in their voice.

Out of all the possible versions of him out there; they'd still chose him.

And that fact alone warmed Caleb more than any fire ever could.


End file.
